Responses to Anti-Tobacco Intruders

[dalby]

thank you all for the replies
I had a great-great-grandfather that smoked a pipe, and lived to be 98. I also had a greatx3-uncle on the other side of my family that lived to be 103. my grandfather gave up the pipe in his late 40s and expired at 73...
My roommates approve enough of my hobby to insist that I should smoke inside as much as I like.

Even my own mother approves of my newly found passion for the pipe, on a recent visit I briefly subjected her to my droning on about the rich history of pipes and tobaccos- she even suggested contacting a friend that travels to New Orleans frequently to inquire about acquiring perique first hand from St. James Parish...
The main impetus for the original post stems from frustration at work.

(there are many people I don't know, our industry employs thousands of workers).

This week I began smoking in proximity to co-workers, briefly at lunch and at the end of the shift. With annoying frequency, they comment negatively about my preferred method of tobacco consumption, though they have no qualms with the constant cigarette smoke they've endured for years(not to mention the industrial environment we work in is rife with other, more harmful substances). Now that a couple of days have passed, I no longer trouble myself with their opinions about this facet of who I am, I am a pipe smoker and will continue to be one! :D

 

[Perique]

Since loudmouth anti-smokers are nearly always fat, I typically make disparaging comments about their weight. Serves 'em right for being hypocritical sheepish uninformed busybodies.
(hey, you asked...)

 

[pipeherman]

Like Roadqueen it depends on the mood. Wait, i'm always grumpy and cynical it depends on how bored I am, and what kind of reaction i'd try and get in return.
Classic - "Smoking Kills? Life Kills!" (possibly to add on, list everything one can do from Bacon to Cranberry Juice which has been stated to cause some form of health problem. One could then state If one uses health as a reason to not do something, then this one person isn't going to live a very fufilled life.
Another Classic only works on the the manly men type (beware very rude apologise very unsuitable for the forum - I also like to state that no Homophobia is intended or denigration of the Armed Forces) "Hey it's my Hobby! I don't go over to you and knock the sailors cocks out of your mouth... Now let me relight my pipe". I have only used that once, seemed to laugh and then leave me to smoke my pipe.
Or I just shake his hand and hold it for a time and look into his eyes with a serious face. For longer than generally accepted. Makes people feel uncomfortable and leave you alone. Only works with Sober people.

 

[anthonyrosenthal74]

"You know, smoking can kill you."
"Yeah and so can your tailpipe... take that however you want"

 

[taerin]

It's hard for me to get riled up over ignorant people. I've dealt with far worse than trying to explain a hobby to someone. I just state my reasons and no one has ever continued past that point with me, although very few of them believed me or got it. Most of the time treating others with respect and stating exactly what you believe; sticking by it, can go a long way. When people see that level of commitment, it's hard to keep pressing on, especially if you do not give them a reason to feel negative about you other than their initial concern. I smile a lot too, the whole innocent thing seems to go a long way

 

[dervis]

I just kinda stare at them and say ok. If they keep going about it, or act like they want to have a conversation about it... Well its a saying that starts with have a Coke and a Smile

 

[uberam3rica]

I tell them two things 1- Pipe tobacco doesn't have all the harmful chemical additives that cigarettes do. 2- So many things cause cancer, that I'll take my chances because I enjoy smoking my pipe.

 

[plateauguy]

Sic Fisher on them. ::

 

[tennsmoker]

I have done a bit of checking on this subject of health and smoking.
The Centers for Disease Control, as you probably know, estimates that 400,000 people die each year for smoking.

I can’t find a breakout of how many of those deaths are attributed to cigarettes and how many to pipe smoking in its latest report, which is from the years 2000-2004.
That may be because of this disclaimer from the CDC: “The findings in this report are subject to at least six limitations. First, the estimates understate deaths attributable to tobacco use because estimates of deaths attributable to cigar smoking, pipe smoking, and smokeless tobacco use were excluded. Although the overall prevalence rates of cigar and pipe smoking and use of smokeless tobacco have remained relatively stable, increased public health concerns about these products might warrant including estimates of deaths attributable to these tobacco products in the future.”
Check it out here: http://www.justice.org/images/structural/blank.gif
Now, I found other reports that said 300,000 people die each year in the U.S. from being obese and another 100,000 die due to alcohol abuse.
The CDC does not include in its data information about how many people die each year due to medical mistakes, however.

Want to take a guess?
Try 200,000, according to the American Association for Justice, formerly the Association of Trial Lawyers of America,

But a reasonable estimate is that medical mistakes now kill around 200,000 Americans every year. That would make them one of the leading causes of death in the United States.
The Institute of Medicine (IOM) posits a smaller number, but it is still high: preventable medical errors kill as many as 98,000 people every year at a cost of $29 billion, which would make it the sixth leading cause of death if the Centers for Disease Control included medical errors as a category.
Uh, that means be careful, the doctor you go to might be the last doctor you see!
So when the antis come at you with information about smoking will kill you, you might ask them where they got that information, and they must be talking about cigarettes.
Oh, and just this week my personal doc asked me about my pipe smoking. I told him I was a very moderate pipe smoker, one to two bowls a day.
“Does it relax you?” he asked.
“Yes.”
He later told me that he had to ask me about my smoking. Then he said, “Your amount doesn’t worry me.”
Going out the door to his office, a nurse told me, “Actually, I love the smell of pipe smoke.”
Nuff said.

 

[mluyckx]

So much anger and attempts to reason with ignorant people... tsk tsk tsk.
My response is usually one of (sarcastic) gratitude. It usually goes something like this:
"Oh.. Thank you. I didn't realize. See, I just moved back to the civilized world from being a missionary on a deserted island in the middle of the Pacific where I was teaching the aboriginals the benefits of our modern Western life. Such as TV, Cars, genetic modified crops, hormone and antibiotic treated meat, alcoholic beverages and smoking. I recon I just wasted all that time and should have just let them be. I guess we're killing them just like we did the Native Americans with bringing them smallpox between 1837 and 1870"
I have not had one person continue the conversation ::

 

[pchitti]

Mine just usually consists of: thank you, but im pretty sure Im not going to survive anyways.

 

[bryanf]

I must be scary looking or something because in almost 6 years pipe smoking at any time and any place I want in public where it's legal, I've never had a rude anti tobacco comment, but had quite a few nice comments. I suppose if someone was rude to me, I'd just ignore them. I once asked a lady if my pipe bothered her, while smoking in the outdoor section of a restaurant, and she said yes. I put it down and she raved to her family about how polite I was to ask.

 

[locopony]

I have never had one say anything to me. I smoke everywhere and anytime. I will let ya know if or when it happens, what I say or do.

 

[dochudson]

Since loudmouth anti-smokers are nearly always fat, I typically make disparaging comments about their weight. Serves 'em right for being hypocritical sheepish uninformed busybodies.
(hey, you asked...)

interesting.. you sound like an 'anti' about fat people?

 

[evyn]

Generally I get positive comments. The few "smoking will kill you" comments I get I respond with "God, I hope so!", and they never quite know how to take that.

 

[dragonslayer]

I just hand them Kashmir's post/list from awhile back I printed out and carry a copy then tell them to read that, worry more about genetically enhanced food we eat, much of which is banned in many countries, and go away...
Craig